New Yamaha RBX5 A2

[ga_edwards]

Oooh, thanks for that. I didn't even know that website existed. I have the B9.1ut, but I'm sure they'll translate, it's basically the same system with a few more bells, buttons and whistles.

Ta muchly!

 

[Bongolation]

Hmm I just have to say I don't think any Spector's are really "Cheap" even the legends are 500+ if you consider that cheap I guess.

I got [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] for $168, delivered, new.

It's the cheapest bass I own, but after a lot of setup, it's really a neat traditional passive bass, and I don't normally have any use for Spectors. One of my favorites!

Interestingly, Invalid Link Removed. If I can whittle a little more off the price with some additional discounts, I'll get one.

 

[optikhog]

Have you tried any of the patches posted on that zoom site. I've got a couple that I got from there that gives some decent growl. Fact I've got a few patches programmed in from there that the RBX does really well on.

http://www.haax.se/basspatches/

Which are your faves for the Yamaha?

 

[loonybob123]

I got [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] for $168, delivered, new.

It's the cheapest bass I own, but after a lot of setup, it's really a neat traditional passive bass, and I don't normally have any use for Spectors. One of my favorites!

Interestingly, Invalid Link Removed. If I can whittle a little more off the price with some additional discounts, I'll get one.

well you my friend got an amazing out of the ordinary deal.

 

[eetu]

Well ill be getting one of these next week.. for about 257 US dollars.. this is great caus ein MExico i can only get it for about $800.. Im getting a Black 4 string version.. i wonder if it would be replacing my Yamaha RBX 800AF..

By the way any one of you here plays guitar? if so.. what about this model on guitar? how is it?.. and also i saw that it comes with a USB conection whats up with that?.

Also i request some more info on that mode with the onboard preamp.. it looks amazing.. mor einfo please.. pics.. schemes.. model and prices..

thanks

 

[RedsFan75]

Which are your faves for the Yamaha?

Well, for what I play there's 2 that I use the most, but I also just use the SWR model a lot.

The two patches that I favor are the Ty Zamora one.
http://www.haax.se/basspatches/manualsite/show.php?unit=B2&ID=7
And the Clean Fingers one
http://www.haax.se/basspatches/manualsite/show.php?unit=B2&ID=41

I've got several others programmed in that sound OK, but tend to go between the SWR, Ty, and Clean Fingers.

Some of the others I like are the
Gallien Kruger 1 (Reduced the Compressor a bit on this one though), Rush- YYZ, and the Stingray one.

Some of them using the Yamaha pick up finger noise on the strings too easily.

The 2 groups I play with want a clean sound. So I stick with those, When I need a little growl, I usually keep it low key and go with the Acoustic Amp model, or run my Bad Monkey in the chain for a touch of overdrive.

 

[autopilot!]

To autopilot!, I don't know quite what to say. Mine arrived on my doorstep perfect, setup and everything. If you liked the other color, then you should've spent the extra $250 and bought one. At about $500 it's still a great deal over list price and I guarantee those won't be selling out anytime soon. I played one and looked at the quality before laying down any hard cash over any internet deals. If yours came with obvious flaws then you should've sent it back and gotten it replaced. I'm pretty sure most if not all manufacturers/luthiers will recommend a bit of concavity in the neck. It has a truss rod for adjustments... If mine came convexed I might write a post about it. Anything short of that and I would do a setup myself or pay someone more experienced to do it for me. Have you ever seen a straight or convexed longbow. Same principle. It comes from the factory neck attached, stringed, and close to tuned. Why would you ship an intrument in just a cardboard box with anymore tension in the neck than just that in the middle of winter? They expect you to put your own strings on it anyways. I'm just stating the obvious. No flames please. If you can argue othewise, then I'll reopen the textbboks on all I know about guitar care.

hey my post was meant to help other folks out there considering buying one of these basses online for $249. i was attempting to be as thorough as possible. you can't go down to local shops and pick this up for that price. i know how to adjust my own basses to my personal taste. others thinking of buying it online may have to pay more to have someone else adjust one out of the box i.e. setup fees. i personally had to adjust the neck an 1/8th turn twice, and adjusting the bridge each time before I was pretty happy. the playability improved drastically. just because you feel yours came perfectly set up doesn't mean everyone's will.

as for your comments on price, i personally feel that no bass guitar is worth $300 more just because of it's color, but to each their own. the black is better than i expected, but i was just commenting that i prefer the white. either way, i'm not sure i would agree that this bass is worth $500 or more in any color, but right now i'm reserving judgement.

with regards to any flaws, i was also attempting to be thorough in my analysis of the instrument as it arrived. given that another person also commented on the headstock nameplate glue issue, this may be a common thing, or something important for a would be buyer to look out for if they are deciding between more than one. while i don't consider it faulty enough to return it based just on that, i felt compelled to make note of it to others who may be interested, as i find it the most visually unappealing part of the bass i received. also, given that this flaw is merely visual and the rest of the instrument is fine, i'd be more concerned about sending it back and getting a bigger problem. also, this is the first instrument i have ever bought mail order. i typically agree with you that i'd rather play an instrument thoroughly before taking it home. at $249, i was willing to take that risk just for fun. and since i have had this instrument for only 2 days now, i believe i can still return it if i choose. before that, i had hoped to record a little bit with it and decide if it's worth having or not.

initial impression of the sound of this bass is that it has a thinner, grainier sound when compared to my other basses which have a fuller, rounded out middle and bottom. it also sounded kind of like a hollow body. in a way, i'd almost compare the sound of the yamaha to the sound i might get going through a DI with my other basses, and eq'd to take out some of the lows. that being said, it could make it so that it cuts better in a mix, with less need for eq. although i understand where the j comparison is coming from, it's really quite a different sounding bass overall from my j.

 

[Bongolation]

well you my friend got an amazing out of the ordinary deal.

Hey, that's my life.

Really, the deals are always out there. The Spector was just a MF "Stupid Deal" plus some bonus discount.

If I don't see a huge, huge discount, I simply don't buy. Never have, never will. I wind up with a lot of strange gear in colors so weird I can't look at them, though.

That said, the RBX4 A2 at $229.99 is a very nice bass I like more than I expected I would...though it's the heaviest example by far in this thread.

 

[Bongolation]

given that another person also commented on the headstock nameplate glue issue, this may be a common thing, or something important for a would be buyer to look out for if they are deciding between more than one.

No, I think it's just a stick-on cover with some gummed backing, and basically a total non-issue. It doesn't do anything or impede anything. Feh.

initial impression of the sound of this bass is that it has a thinner, grainier sound when compared to my other basses which have a fuller, rounded out middle and bottom. it also sounded kind of like a hollow body. in a way, i'd almost compare the sound of the yamaha to the sound i might get going through a DI with my other basses, and eq'd to take out some of the lows. that being said, it could make it so that it cuts better in a mix, with less need for eq. although i understand where the j comparison is coming from, it's really quite a different sounding bass overall from my j.

I can't imagine how anyone could separate the sound of the bass itself from the overpowering sound of those twangy strings.

 

[autopilot!]

No, I think it's just a stick-on cover with some gummed backing, and basically a total non-issue. It doesn't do anything or impede anything. Feh.

I can't imagine how anyone could separate the sound of the bass itself from the overpowering sound of those twangy strings.

The issue on mine is excess glue when the cover was put on that dried and then was painted over. It looks a little tacky and could be better than it is, and while it's probably a "non-issue" sonically, that's not my point. If all other things are equal and you have the choice between one or the other, then it's worth noticing and buying one that was put together with a little more care.

I'm not sure I understand your comment about the sound. Maybe you are implying that the stock strings suck so bad that I'm not really hearing the pickups/bass's true sound. While better strings may sound better, the characteristics I pointed out about the sound would not be that much different.

 

[Bongolation]

The issue on mine is excess glue when the cover was put on that dried and then was painted over. It looks a little tacky and could be better than it is, and while it's probably a "non-issue" sonically, that's not my point. If all other things are equal and you have the choice between one or the other, then it's worth noticing and buying one that was put together with a little more care.

I think they all may have a degree of that for some reason. I just looked at mine and noticed a bit of glue mashed out around the tip of the head, though it looks to me that this piece was put on after painting the neck. This lapse in an otherwise nice finish is mysterious.

Maybe you are implying that the stock strings suck so bad that I'm not really hearing the pickups/bass's true sound.

Yep. Not so much that they are bad -- I've certainly seen much worse -- but they are appallingly bright, even for stainless roundwounds.

While better strings may sound better, the characteristics I pointed out about the sound would not be that much different.

Maybe, but in this particular case I'm pretty skeptical. The overwhelming "sound" of this instrument out of the box is from those strings, which is particularly obvious when noting how the bass sounds unamplified. I certainly couldn't tell you what part of the overall net sound was due to the pickups in such an extreme case.

 

[optikhog]

I just pulled the trigger on a bayou jazz wiring harness with a series switch for my RBX5 A2. I loves me my series low-mid bump and with the 'zing' of this bass, it should still have enough highs for my tastes when switched. I'd do it myself but the last switch I installed had a bad solder point and cost me a tweeter so I'm DIY-shy right now. And CTS pots w/silver solder never hurt anyone.

 

[w33nie]

There is a little bit of glue sticking out of spaces in mine, too. For me it's only one drop, are your spots much bigger than that?

 

[autopilot!]

bongo, as you pointed out in your own posts, the bass is bright sounding. other people who have changed strings and commented also say it is bright even with different strings. my post stated that my initial impression of the rbx4 a2 is that it has a bright, grainy, aggressive, thin sound that was less rounded out or smooth sounding as my j bass. i also added that i thought it had a woody, hollow body sound. right now i find the bass interesting, but i have no idea how it will sound in a mix recorded which is what i am mostly interested in.

what exactly are you skeptical of? i think it would be helpful for me to understand your point of view if you gave a more thorough description of your own impression of the bass.

 

[autopilot!]

There is a little bit of glue sticking out of spaces in mine, too. For me it's only one drop, are your spots much bigger than that?

how big is the drop? i'd say mine is about 15mm rough blob on the top side above the nut, and on the bottom side, the whole ridge has glue coming out. in one spot, the paint is slightly chipped off the glue so it's a yellowish/white dried glue in the ridge as well. it is just cosmetic though, and i doubt i will return it for that reason. i don't recall the demo i played in the store having that issue, but it was also a white one, and i at the time i wasn't looking seriously since it was $550. at $250 though, i can live w/ a little glue blob!

 

[Bongolation]

what exactly are you skeptical of?

That this is attributable to the pickups.

Sorry if I was unclear on that.

I also think that this sound may have something to do with the relative imbalance between body and neck mass (and rigidity) on this A2 design, and possibly be less obvious to me on this one because it's substantially heavier than the others mentioned so far.

I haven't compared it to my new AS Jazz simply because I've got it put away until better weather, as I doubt the new Fender finish [spit!] can handle my current climate without checking.

 

[autopilot!]

bongo- i am judging the bass as a whole out of the box. i assume they put strings on there to represent to a potential buyer how the bass will sound if purchased. i'm being as objective as i can about the bass from my perspective.

i'd like to add a few more thoughts... i did want to say that i like the cosmetic cover that yamaha used for the truss rod. i think it looks really nice and does it in a very tapering and aesthetic way that beats the look of how a pickguard normally covers the neck joint.

speaking of...no pickguard...i haven't tried playing it with a pick yet. i can't imagine that would be good for the finish though...

the bass came with a standard yamaha manual, a cheap instrument cable, a battery, and 3 allen wrenches. i don't know if that was mentioned. 1 wrench for the truss rod, 2 for the bridge.

the truss rod and bridge were both easily adjusted, and after a few days i am still happy with the setup. the hardware doesn't seem as heavy duty as other basses, but are of decent quality and finish. well set up, i found the neck really quick. it's definitely enjoyable just to play unplugged.

plugged in, i think this bass has a less mucky low-mids than others, you get woody tones out of the neck pickup, and gnarly driven tones out of the bridge pickup. you can get a wide variety of tones by backing either one of the p/up volumes off in different variations and then adjusting the 3rd unlit tone knob.

when i first saw this bass, i kind of thought of those 80s keytars. to that end, for me it conjures ideas in my mind of an electronic nature/sound as well. this bass is different in many aspects from any bass i've played and produces a unique sound. it's just currently unclear to me whether it's a sound i will favor in the long run. or i may find that like any other tool, this yamaha will be of use in certain situations and not others.

now if only they would clearance the white model...

 

[no-logic]

I just got my RBX4 A2 yesterday and I am impressed. However, as some here have said, the tone pot doesn't seem to change the tone much. (What change there is is in the last 1/4 turn of the knob.) Does anyone have an idea how to go a little more treble out of it? Are they using different caps on some?

 

[Bongolation]

I just got my RBX4 A2 yesterday and I am impressed. However, as some here have said, the tone pot doesn't seem to change the tone much. (What change there is is in the last 1/4 turn of the knob.) Does anyone have an idea how to go a little more treble out of it? Are they using different caps on some?

No, it's a perfectly standard Jazz V/V/T control layout (with all its inherent volume-mix vices) -- tone's 250KA/.047mFd. Caps have virtually nothing to do with maximum treble when the pot is nulled in any case.

Any more treble out of this thing and it'd go up in flames. Look to your amp on that one, I think.

The tone control does work and becomes more obviously operative when you listen to the speaker on-axis. That was my mistake, listening to it on a 15" speaker at about eighty degrees off-axis. No apparent tone adjustment at all -- but through a 4x10"w/Tweeter, listened to on-axis, the tone control worked perfectly. With a bass this bright, that's all it takes to find or lose your apparent treble cut.

 

[no-logic]

No, it's a perfectly standard Jazz V/V/T control layout (with all its inherent volume-mix vices) -- tone's 250KA/.047mFd. Caps have virtually nothing to do with maximum treble when the pot is nulled in any case.

Any more treble out of this thing and it'd go up in flames. Look to your amp on that one, I think.

The tone control does work and becomes more obviously operative when you listen to the speaker on-axis. That was my mistake, listening to it on a 15" speaker at about eighty degrees off-axis. No apparent tone adjustment at all -- but through a 4x10"w/Tweeter, listened to on-axis, the tone control worked perfectly. With a bass this bright, that's all it takes to find or lose your apparent treble cut.

I would not conside mine bright by any means. Some have said that they have a .010mFd cap. So you're saying that a
.047 wouldn't make any difference?